Top 10 iPad apps.

With thousands of applications for accessible download, the iPad is one the most accredited gadgets today. From having incredible portability to the ease of use, people around the world are buying iPads…Most of them being students.

For those of you who may already own an iPad and to those who are planning to buy one, explore your options with the top 10 tried and tested educational apps!

1.   Pages

There’s no need to worry about the fact that the iPad doesn’t have Microsoft Word®, Pages is probably the best word processor ever been on a Mobile device. With Pages you can create, view and edit documents wherever you go, there are also numerous templates to create flyers, posters and letters. Plus, the best part is you can export it to a PDF or Word doc via mail to e-mail, share and print your work.

2.    Numbers

Other than creating documents, you can no also produce spreadsheets and graphs on your iPad with the easy use of Numbers! There are over 200 functions to help you create the perfect graphic design, spreadsheet or graph you need.

3.   Flash my Brain

Flash my brain is an excellent app to create Flash Cards for revision study. You can customize the settings to help you learn the way you like. Also, add photos and different languages on your cards to suit all purposes!

4.    iStudiez

iStudiez allows you to input all your block schedules and timetables for school (alternating week 1 and 2), it also has an additional project reminder function, which makes a student’s life easier by reminding you when your project or homework is due in.

        5.   iSource APA

This App is just the one for research projects. You can come up with a perfect bibliography using iSource APA and you can take all the credit! All you have to do is enter your resource information it asks you for, and the app does the rest.

        6.   iBooks

iBooks helps you save your notebooks and PDF’s for school and various subjects. You can also download numerous free classical books and educational teachings by professors and teachers.

        7.   Instapaper

Save all your favourite web pages for later offline reading. Everything you save on Instapaper is changed to an offline mode, which enables you to read your saved articles at libraries, airports, classrooms and non Wi-Fi Public spots.

8. Evernote

With Evernote you can save things you like, ideas and things you see. The best thing is that Evernote works on every nearly every device out there. 

          9. TED

TED lets viewers browse 800 educational talks on a wide range of topics. Talks that last from 3 to 30 minutes long have you hooked on to the most interesting facts and opinions from some of the most famous and inspirational people in today's world. 

10. GEO Walk HD

This is an educational app loaded with tons of useful information about more than 500 people, places, animals and plants. Every piece of information has a vivid picture to help bring it to life. This app is extremely captivating in every aspect and all you Geo lovers must try it out!

Although some of these apps aren't free, they're are definitely considerable.

 

Sumo Paint - An free online Photoshop

Website: www.sumopaint.com

Photoshop. A program that allows us to exercise our creative talent for digital media. It allows us to edit images for creative and funny purposes and also allows us to create digital sketches and designs that mirror those in real life. Many of us have thought once in their life about using Photoshop.

The only problem is that most of us don't have the money in order to buy the better Photoshop programs, such as Adobe Photoshop or Sketchbook.

Introducing Sumo Paint, your free ticket to supply your photoshopping needs. Sumo Paint is a free online photo editing website that pretty much covers everything that Adobe Photoshop could give you. It's simple to get started. All you need to do is make an free account and start working on whatever piece of media you want to create.

Features of Sumo Paint

Like Adobe Photoshop, you are able to upload an image and use certain tools, like the liquify, crop, change tone, colour to recreate the image you prefer.

Sumo Paint also allows you to paint your own digital drawings, as a normal software would and comes with all of the tools for you to make a piece of art. It includes the brush, erasers, colour palettes and other tools you can use to make a drawing/painting. You can then save your creations or edits onto your computer in any format that you like for you to view and share with your friends.

Being on the internet gives Sumo Paint the opportunity to edit from not only from your computer but also from the internet as well. You can type the URL of a photo when starting new project and it will appear when you start. In fact, you can get an image from the Sumo Paint website and edit them however you like.

There is also a fullscreen mode which behaves like the fullscreen mode that you can find on Youtube. It fills up your whole screen and can be reduced to its normal size with a touch of the esc button.

Sumo Paint is easy to use, having its own help section if you want to look something up.

They will guide new users to explore the tools and give descriptions of each one. It's better than using the tools not knowing what each of them do.

Uses in Learning and Reasons for Recommendation:

Sumo Paint allows under-privileged people in the world of computer graphics to try out Photoshop programs for free. It only takes a few minutes to start an account to access all the tools you need to start adding better illustrations into your work.

For School, it can be used for making better graphic for designs in subjects such as Design Technology, IT, Art Textiles and subjects where you can use it for designing. It is not limited to just those subjects. What if you need to illustrate a diagram for a math assignment but can't find a good one? Use some coluored straight lines and text in order to make your own.

For those in Y7 and Y8 you can use this to prepare for a Photoshop unit that you will have to do in ICT. Many of you will not be able to get Photoshop in time for this unit and will have to resort to using the school's computer which cna be a hassle in and out of school. Using this will solve the problem of having to pay for Photoshop programming.

By: Michael Kang 9F

Is this you? Laptop Ergonomics!! Using your laptop for long periods of time is an issue that all of us face. It is really important that in our extended use of these devices that we do not suffer physically.  Laptops are known to cause eye strain which is one of the reasons we should limit our use and periodically take our eyes and look into the distance from the screen if we are using them for a long time.

Just as importantly is our posture. The picture shows how not to do it!  Slouching puts strain on our backs and neck and over time can cause problems to develop.  Although it is sometimes difficult to remember yo should try to adopt an upright posture when using your laptop.  The video linked below helps to explain the correct position for laptop use. Look at the video here if you cannot see it

Diigo - A web research tool

Website: http://www.diigo.com Diigo is a free, online tool that can help you while doing research. It is similar in concept to Delicious, a bookmarking tool, but in many ways more versatile. Sometimes, we feel as if there is too much information, when only some is really relevant. Diigo can help you save these snippets of useful information, add you own notes or save the entire page. Above all, it makes it very easy for you to access anywhere.

Getting started with using diigo is very easy. Simply head over to their website and click the "Get Started Now!" button. After creating an account, you will see this screen: If you want to start using it quickly, you can simply drag the Diigolet "super bookmark" to your bookmarks toolbar. From it, you can access Diigo's main features, such as highlighting and annotating: Alternatively, you can install the add-on, which provides more features such as viewing your Library as a sidebar. Once you highlight anything or add a sticky note, it is immediately added to your Library, which is stored in the cloud. That way, all relevant or useful information you find while researching is kept in one place, where it is safe and easily retrievable. This is another one of Diigo's powerful features: the ability to sync and access this data from any device, anywhere. It is compatible with iPhones, iPads, Android phones and all major web browsers. Here, you can see the bit from the article I saved, accessed from my iPad. This also allows me to easily return to the article to continue reading. Overall, Diigo is a great, easy-to-use little tool to aid in your researching, to use while working on a group project where you need to share information, or just for being able to save anything interesting you come across while browsing the web. Haihao Liu 11W

Finer Points of Facebook

That's right the magic F of Facebook once again looms in our blog - so what have they done this time?  Well there is of course the new timeline feature which will soon be launched to all FB users.  According to this article in the Huffington Post, the timeline on FB will now allows users to keep all data they have posted right back to the account being opened.

Previous to this, posts and profile data would simply "fall off" after a certain time.  Now with timeline everything will be kept.  Facebook is even encouraging users to add data from before Facebook!!   The new timeline feature means that it is now more important than ever to make sure you consider thoroughly what you post as all this data will be archived and searchable. Our Message? Check Privacy Settings Once Again!!  It seems that whenever Facebook has come out with a new feature there are some privacy issues.  It may mean that you should go back into your privacy settings and make sure they are set up as you need them to be.  This video set takes you some through some of the ways you can check your account settings. Click here if you can't see the video embedded below.

Boolify!

Go Boolify! Website: http://www.boolify.org/

'Boolify teaches it's users how to create Boolean searches into Google using operators such as OR, NOT plus AND to get very specific search results.' 

Boolify basically is an interesting search engine and what it does is that it expands your search results and gives you numerous meanings and links to go to and find your answers. The appearance of the website is simple, yet appealing. Your search keywords are typed into blocks that resemble puzzle pieces. Some of the main features you may use while researching are the 'OR' and 'NOT' puzzle pieces to be more exact, basically to refine your search to only what you want and need. 

These are the pieces you can use (left): *WORD*, AND, NOT, OR and URL.

For example you use the 'word' button as your main search base, you can limit your search by adding the 'not pice and making your search more precise. Another great tool you can use more or less to widen your search is by adding the 'and' piece. This piece helps give you more options in terms of what you are searching for (right). Suppose you are researching about sharks, you may add 'and' fish to deepen your inquiry. Maybe even to look at the relativity between the two and how they can be differentiated. 

The last additional tool included in Boolify is GLEAN (above). This is a simple tool for mathematics and science research and questions. Glean tools target critical mathematical concepts and skills to help students in areas where they face a challenge.

Well, those are the main tools that Boolify features. This search engine will much be applied to support your learning. Additional information can be learnt and used in various subjects. Plus you can actually save what you have searched, for end of class revision! This gives you an advantage as you can bookmark whatever links you need and remember facts of topics you have covered. 

Altogether the tools you can use are:

1. 'WORD' piece
2. 'AND' piece
3. 'NOT' piece
4. 'OR' piece
5. 'URL' piece
6. GLEAN
7. 'REMOVE' piece
8. 'SAVE SEARCH' piece
9. 'VIEW SAVED' piece
10. 'START OVER' piece

I am recommending this search engine as it helps ME research and gain knowledge on external information i may need to add to my main points. This is definitely worth a try for projects, assessments and maybe just a simple piece of writing.

Mallika Chawla 9E 

PaperRater - Your Very Own Editor

Website: http://www.paperrater.com/

We've all typed up a piece of writing for school homework or for some other reason and as we're writing it, everything seems to fit into place.

But then, there's the editing.

There are not many people would get their work grammatically correct at the first try, and even when you've read over your work and hand it in, your teacher gives it back with one or two correction markings that you overlooked.

With PaperRater, you can solve these little mishaps of your own subconscious. PaperRater is a free, online program that finds the mistakes in your work and makes them noticeable to you without having to consult anyone. What's more is that an artificial intelligence also marks it to a teacher's standard, giving you a grade and a score on your writing just like a teacher would.

Features of PaperRater (Written on the website):

• Auto-Grader
• Readability Statistics
• Style and Word Choice
• Spelling and Grammar Check
• Plagiarism Check
• Title Validation
• Vocabulary Builder

What it also does is that it rates your work based on the type of Year that you're in and the type of work that you are writing. Simply enter your grade, type of paper, title and text to get your editing feedback. It also can detect plagiarism in your work from your research sites, which you can post into the "Work Cited" section.

Uses in Learning and Reasons for Recommendations:

PaperRater is a great program to use when you can't seem to find anymore problems in your work. The difference from an average word processor is that it not only points out the problems that you miss, but it forces you to change those problems yourself rather than auto-correcting it for you. Therefore, you learn to identify more problems and change it yourself. It also suggests using different words and phrases that you may have never thought of using, opening your mind to more ideas.

For those who are extremely lazy and are tempted to plagiarize, or perhaps are hard-working but have unintentionally plagiarized, PaperRater detects it and points it out. It's probably what your teacher would find out anyway. So basically, it's your online teacher/marker.

Of course, if you are confident with your skills in editing or don't want to take advice from a computer, you can always ignore what it says.

By: Michael Kang 9F